The Menu
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
- Released:
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Horror
- Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, Judith Light, Rob Yang, Reed Birney, Janet McTeer, Aimee Carrero, Paul Adelstein, Mark St. Cyr, Rebecca Koon, Peter Grosz, Christina Brucato, Adam Aalderks
- Director: Mark Mylod
Comments
- taborfreddy - 23 June 2024
Fun to watch!
For me, the film was just fun to watch; I've watched it on multiple occasions. It has become one of my go-to-films when I can't think of any new stuff I'm interested in watching. With that aside, i think you have to go into this film realizing, that, it is a fiction. When you realize that, the plot holes really doesn't matter.
I would treat this film like any other horror or thriller that defiles logic.
Some examples of movies that I've enjoyed with scenes that defies logic and science would be The Chain Saw Massacre, Pet Cemetery, and the Friday the 13th movies. If nothing else, you'll get a few laughs out of it, and you get to imagine how you would escape if you were in a situation like that - i do that when i watch other silly horror movies. - poulomihari - 11 May 2024
Was intrigued by social media, and found it one of the most memorable tales of all time
This movie is a wonderful commentary about art and artist. An art is savoured by all- some enjoy it, some dislike it, and many people are simply cluless. Yet, most people pretend they understand the art MORE than the artist. It is this pretense that bothers the artist. Sooner or later they begin to loose the fun of creating something unique. What people fail to realize is that an artist is also a mad person. There's a hunger in their eyes, to be appriciated for once. They want an honest opinion, not reviews or criticisms, not even fan worship- they just want to be appriciated for what they have done. As somebody pointed out, the art can be anything- fashion, movies, music.... But the artist simply craves for genuine appriciation.
*spoilers*
The story is about a highly accomplished Chef who has 'lost it'. His passion has died out and he can no longer put up with his pretentious customers. Since he runs a very high-end exclusive restaurant, his customers are people who are rich enough to afford it. And yet these customers know not even a dime about what he does or how. Even the food-critic he had invited was trying to figure out the greatness in his food which was purposely made bad. The chef gave her two extra servings of one of his bad soup because she claimed it had some meaning (lmao). Then there was this foodie who literally worshipped the chef, was willing to die even just so he could taste his dishes. He knew a lot about food and constantly bragged about how good it tasted, interjecting about all the ingridients that were used and the presentation of it all. But when he was finally given a chance to cook, he showed to everyone that he knew nothing. As a person who knows cooking, this kinda filled me with rage. I have personally dealt with people who'll have all the opinion about food and yet, couldn't cook for life. Then there are others, who are just there for the hype and know nothing. They pay for the experience- the feel of royalty; to hold the power of luxury, unaware of what makes it a luxury....
So eventually a tired, defeated, unhappy and exasperated Chef loses his mind and decides 'to hell with it'. He executes a meticulous mass murder plan, involves his loyal subordinates and invites some of his most long-time customers. There are his regulars who can't recall even a single dish, his investors, foodies, food-columnist/critic, a failed film-star who he thought should retire because his art has degraded. Amidst this hell, there's an unexpected guest- a hooker played by Anya Taylor Joy, who wasn't supposed to be there but gets entangled in the drama. She doesn't belong to this world and doesn't buy into the hype. She sees the whole thing from an outsider's perspective and finds it bizzare. As the killings begin she realizes she has been trapped in a chaotic mess where a mad-man is willing to doom everyone only because he doesn't feel appriciated anymore. And thus she has to find a way to get out.
I personally believe this is one of the finest tales that has come out in recent years, and it will go on to gain a cult status in future. This movie is a commentary about art afterall. We have seen plenty of superhero movies and heard plenty of nasty songs to know that this is something different. Stories like this come out only once in a blue moon. For it was one of the rare instances where the story was not a treasure hunt. There was no puzzle to solve, no horcruxes to find, no dragons to tame. It was simply, a movie with a good story..... - dmitrykouchnir - 28 March 2024
Brilliant!
Best movie I watched in the last 365 days. I did not know what to expect, and the way the suspense is gradually built up all the way to the climax is just brilliant.
The fact that I enjoyed watching a 40M film a lot more that a 400M film says a lot. And while this film was not a blockbuster, it really should have been. It really shows a decline in our society and its values.
The subtext of the movie will not be understood by all, but if "eaters" are replaced with people and "servers" are replaced with politicians, our society and exactly where it is headed can be understood much better.
Thank you. - chrismwolfe - 13 January 2023
Entertaining absurdity that doesn't fully land
While I found this one solidly entertaining, I don't know if it quite landed the way that I wanted it to. It was certainly intriguing and engaging, but at some point almost felt a tad repetitive and a bit preachy.
The shining star of this production was most certainly the acting. Awesome casting and everyone did a great job... by far my favorite part. The movie also looked beautiful with some really lovely shots.
If this was one thing I would definitely say unpredictable as they kept you guessing where it was going, therefore keeping you engaged. It wasn't my favorite but I definitely liked it. I would still recommend this, maybe not to everyone, but I would. - tylerkom - 12 January 2023
Very good but not great
Oh yes, this was a fun one. Don't be fooled by the trailers and movie previews, The Menu is a (very good) dark comedy through and through. The film pokes fun at the sophisticated snobbish foodie culture that we see a lot of today and does not take itself too seriously in the meantime.
The writing does almost all of the legwork for the enjoyment of the film. It is smart and witty and devolves into something dark and hilariously satirical. It is an absolute joy to see the characters interact at their separate tables and learn more about what drives them and where they come from. The writers make great use of 'show don't tell', not giving us more than a couple minutes of exposition at the beginning of the film. The acting by Ralph Fiennes is great; he does an excellent job at portraying the grand chef that takes himself a bit too seriously. Anya Taylor Joy is pretty decent in the lead with no obvious issues and she exactly portrays the character she is meant to be. Perhaps a bit too pretty though from a casting decision standpoint. The other lead in Nicholas Hoult is a bit of a red herring and there is not much to say because his character turns into a walking joke by the end of the film.
The issues of the film come from the lack of creativity beyond the writing. It is all serviceable but I can't help but think that so much more could have been done. The cinematography is completely generic (although serviceable), the color palette is muted (and generic), the set and costume design is average and perhaps a bit too on the nose (excusable for a satire film, I suppose). I can't help but wonder how interesting the film could be if it was a bit more daring in any of these other categories. I think it could have been incredible in a one-set 12 Angry Men-esque bottle scene or with more interesting cinematography.
So instead of being great, it is simply very good. Everyone who is into food culture or has hobbies that they are passionate about should watch this film. The critiques are cutting and yet unserious when they come from an unreliable critic. Or don't worry about how good the film is at all and just enjoy the ride... - naomnach - 11 January 2023
Unspeakable
This film has expressed tremendous amount of feelings regarding the current suffocation of humanity through a detailed life of those with capabilities of their desires superior among others, those who've reached the truth finding no gratitude to be given the agony currently in control.
The scenes shows a clear understanding of what mankind has to go through in order to serve the creation itself for peace and comfort to achieve the future furthermore teaches that there is always a better way and things don't need to be as they are thus representing freedom of the mind in the last scene.
Highly recommended. - erian-85272 - 9 January 2023
One of the best movies I've seen in a long time
A very nuanced and emotionally gripping movie about a lost artist that goes to lengths to take out his frustration of having lost the passion for an artform he once loved.
I'm an artist myself and this pretense is very recognizable as every artist faces the frustration of the battle between pure passion and making a living, not letting yourself getting corrupted by the fame and other peoples opinions. Perfect acting by Ralph Fiennes and marvelous artful execution of the artistic elements.
The other characters suit each aspect perfectly aswell and creates a sense of them deserving their demise. - imseeg - 8 January 2023
Well acted. Promising start, but fails to excell. Even worse, this story implodes half way through and cant be saved afterwards...
I usually dont write spoilers, but this movie needs to be explained ahead to prevent disappointment.
The story: an extraordinary chef for the rich and few cooks a dinner in which he intends to KILL everyone of his eating guests.
The bad: the story is NOT credible. Is that a problem? I think it is. Even IF you can suspend your disbelief, this movie is lacking TRUE drama.
Not any good? The acting is done well, BUT (again) there is an enormous LACK of CREDIBILITY, which ruins this movie.
I still got entertained somewhat because I kept wondering till the very end what would happen, but that is not enough to make me want to rate it any higher than 6 stars.
Nice artsy fartsy try, to make something extraordinary at which they FAILED.
2 writers wrote this story. THAT fact alone is spelling trouble. And it WAS indeed a rubbish story. Bummer. - BQTechnoboy - 8 January 2023
Wild ride with a great cast
Pros- Cast is incredible, Ralph Fiennes is disturbing while being enthralling, Anya Taylor-Joy is always captivating, and Nicholas Hoult's character brought a great mix of comedy and horror with how he treats the situation
- They do a good job of not making Ralph Fienne's a total monster or a sympathetic idealist. He's a part of the society he criticizes, and while he is self aware in that aspect he has other flaws which he remains ignorant to
- The twists were surprising and never felt tropey, and also felt earned.
Cons- Some amount of suspension of disbelief needed. Hard to understand some motivation around most of the staff, for example, but pretty easy to get past.
- CrazzCro1017 - 8 January 2023
It was promising, but ultimately fell a little short in my eyes
I've been very excited to see "the menu" for a couple months now, actually it was the only movie I've wanted to see. The plot was interesting, the characters were good, the story was even good too.. until about half way into the movie. The cheekiness and the brilliant ideas almost halted at once for me. I felt like the latter half of the movie could of went into a totally different direction. I was engaged one second; then disengaged for another, I'm not sure why.. but that's just the taste the movie left in my mouth. It's worth a view, but ultimately you'll forget about it the next day. 6/10.
